Disney Academy
by ShizukaRakugaki44
Summary: Imagine a school where all the Disney characters that you loved as a kid interact with one another like regular teens, dealing with school, boyfriends, teachers, and parents. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different Princess, as they all try to find their own 'happily ever after' in this crazy modern world of ours.
1. Chapter 1: Skin White as Snow

**New Series, Everyone! Hope you enjoy****!**

Chapter 1: Skin White as Snow

As the school bell rang, teenage girls ran to and fro to get to their classes. They were all distinctly pretty, with innocent faces, delicate limbs, and the perfect hourglass figures. These features showed through despite their school uniforms, which consisted of a white dress-shirt, a golden sweater-vest with the school crest sewn into the left breast-pocket, which was three intertwining black circles resembling the head of a mouse with a cursive 'D' in the center, a red ribbon bow-tie to keep the dress-shirt collars straight, a matching gold skirt, white stockings, and shiny black slippers. In a classroom labeled 1930, the chairs were empty except for one girl, who had short ebony-black hair, red lips, and pale skin.

"Miss Snow!" snapped a looming figure with raven hair trailing down behind her back. She had long white nails and wore a black business jacket with a dark purple top underneath and a matching skirt over black nylons with pointy shoes.

The girl with the pale skin flinched for a moment, and then she said timidly, "Y-Yes?"

"Do you know why you've been assigned to this particular room?"

"N-No, I…I actually don't know."

"In order to make your education worthwhile at this new school, you need to solely concentrate on your studies and not get side-tracked! So I've asked the principal to assign a special room for you so you can be taught by me _personally_."

"But stepmother-

"Don't you dare use that name in front of me, Miss Snow! From now on you will address me as Ms. White. Is that clear?"

"Yes, step-I mean, Ms. White."

The looming woman, Ms. White, smiled deviously and began her lesson plan. Outside, there were groups of boys passing by the window in the classroom door wearing the same dress-shirts and vest-sweaters, but with golden pants and clogs instead. Most of them just went on their merry way. However, one of them, a young man with delicate features and short brunette chair, purposefully stopped at the window, admiring Snow for a few minutes before Ms. White caught him starring. As she came towards the door, he quickly ducked out of sight, and was gone.

"What happened?" asked Snow.

Ms. White instantly glared at Snow, but then she sighed. "Oh, nothing. Just some silly boy was peaking in through the door window."

"I didn't know there were boys at this school. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I felt like it wasn't necessary. After all, they have proven to be obnoxious distractions, which forced Principal Disney to put them on different schedules in order to separate them, the Prince Program, from us, the Princess Program."

"But I don't see the point in doing that, Ms. White. Won't that make them more curious to…see us in person?"

"What utter nonsense! If you're not going to concentrate on your lessons, I'm going to have to assign you more homework!"

"Sorry, Ms. White."

After class, Snow was allowed to leave for a lunch break, but she had to be back in thirty minutes, otherwise Ms. White was going to give her detention. The other girls looked at her queerly. Snow ignored their looks and sulked to the lunch-room, which was full of towering arches, golden pillars, and packed with teenage boys and girls talking amongst themselves. She got in line and looked at a menu above an eccentric middle-aged chef with a French accent who took the orders students gave him with a passionate smile.

"Hey! You're that Classroom Ghost everyone's talking about!" said a voice behind Snow.

Snow turned around and saw a girl with long red hair down to her hips and blue eyes that seemed to shimmer like the sea.

"Excuse me?" Snow asked.

"There was no announcement made of a new student, and since no one's taught in classroom 1930 for years, rumor got around that there was a ghost in there, and I can sort of see why judging by the paleness of your skin."

Snow was taken aback. "W-Who started this rumor?"

"It was Prince. He's the guy over on that table." The red-haired girl pointed to an oak-wood table in the far back, which was occupied by the same boy Snow saw in her classroom window earlier.

"I guess I'm not making a good impression at this school, am I?" Snow felt her cheeks turn red from embarrassment.

"Are you kidding? Everyone wants to know you because of it, and seeing that you're not really a ghost, we can prove them wrong!"

The red-haired girl grabbed Snow out of the line, and they walked to the front of the table where the chef stood, showing a magnificent view of the lunch-room in its entirety. Snow tried to hide behind the red-haired girl, but she held her in place. Next, she cleared her throat, and released a beautiful tune that caught everyone's attention.

"I wish to make an announcement!" shouted the red-haired girl. "It turns out that the Classroom Ghost is a fictitious lie. She's not a supernatural phenomenon, but a real person, and here she is!"

She then squeezed Snow's shoulders to prove she was solid, causing everyone looked at her. Then one boy with short black hair and rolled up sleeves revealing well-toned muscles stood up and asked, "Well if she's not a ghost, then what's her name?"

"I'm glad you asked, Eric!" the red-haired girl smiled, and looked at Snow. "So, tell us your name, sweetheart."

With everyone's eyes on her, Snow stuttered, "S-Snow…W-White."

"Snow White, everybody – wait, what?" the red-haired girl was surprised. "Are you related to that new teacher Ms. White, the one with the black hair and pointy shoes?"

"S-She's my stepmother."

"Well, glad I'm not the only one with a stepmom in this school."

Both Snow and the red-haired girl turned to see a petite girl wearing dirty rags with short blond hair tied back by a white handkerchief, and her blue eyes glared at them as she moved her mop towards them.

"Now are you two going to stand in line for food, or do I have to make you move? This floor's not going to get cleaned up on its own!" the girl in the rags snapped.

"Okay, Cindy! Take it easy!" said the red-haired girl as she went to the back of the line, followed by Snow.

"Why did you have to make me say my name to the whole cafeteria? It was embarrassing!" Snow whispered angrily.

"Relax, Snow, would you rather have people think you were a ghost?" asked the red-haired girl.

"Not really, but-

"Then what are you complaining about? But if you really felt uncomfortable about it, I apologize. So I'll make it up to you by being your friend!" The red-haired girl then extended her hand out to Snow. "The name's Ariel, Ariel King."

"No way!" Snow exclaimed. "You're the daughter of Triton King, the multi-millionaire who owns dozens of seaside resorts worldwide?!"

"Yep, that's him," Ariel sighed. "Well, anyway, what brings you to Disney Academy?"

After they both got lunch, Ariel and Snow sat down together at a table next to a pillar, where a boy wearing a white shirt, a red scarf, and gray earrings saved seats for them. Ariel introduced him as Scuttle, a friend from the same town she grew up in, and he went on to tell Snow all about Disney Academy and its many secrets. Snow listened with attentive ears, and gradually calmed down about the incident that occurred a few minutes before, but she was still angry at Prince for spreading that stupid rumor about her after seeing her only once through the window. When she looked at the clock, she realized her thirty minutes were almost up, so she had to abruptly leave Ariel and Scuttle, taking the slice of gooseberry pie that was left on her nearly-finished bowl of French onion soup.

"You're three minutes late!" said Ms. White after Snow entered the room.

"I'm sorry, Ms. White," Snow apologized. "It won't happen again."

The next day, which was Tuesday, Snow received an apologetic note from Prince in her locker, but she ignored it. But as the week progressed, more notes piled up, so decided to confront him in person on Friday. At lunch, she sat down with Ariel and Scuttle as usual, and told them of her plan.

"I say go for it!" Ariel said.

"Yeah, I'll go get'm for ya!" Scuttle announced as he stood up and walked over to Prince's table. Prince willingly followed Scuttle back, and was sitting next to Snow. His face was more handsome up close. This made Scuttle wink at Ariel, who did the same. "Alright, we'll leave you two alone for a while!"

Snow attempted to protest, but Scuttle and Ariel were already moving their trays down to the further end of the table, where there was a girl with brunette hair tied in a ponytail reading a book and a tall girl who looked Native American. So she was left with Prince, who she couldn't look at in the face without feeling warm. Prince noticed this, and looked away.

"I…wanted to talk to you about…the rumor you spread, about me," Snow said slowly. "Why did you do that?"

"To tell you the truth…" Prince began. "…I wasn't the one who spread that rumor."

Snow's eyes widened.

"After I saw you in the window, I told some friends about it. Then one of them, Gaston, made an assumption that you were a ghost, based on the descriptions I gave. The others agreed with him, and they in turn told their friends, then…well, you saw the result."

"So it was a misunderstanding." Snow then sighed with relief. "Well, thanks for being honest with me."

"No problem," Prince replied, looking at her directly.

This made Snow blush, and in an instant, she was out of the lunch-room, carrying a red apple in her left hand. Once she was on the floor where her classroom was, she stopped and panted hard. She had never done that much running before. But when she approached her classroom, she noticed there was an unnatural green light coming from it that seemed to cast flame-like shadows on the door, which was partially open. When she got close, she heard Ms. White's voice.

"Magic mirror on the wall, tell me, who is the fairest one of all?" Ms. White asked to someone, or something, in the room.

"Though thou art fair, Queenie, Snow is still fairer than thee," replied a deep unearthly voice.

As Ms. White, or Queenie, which was her first name, cursed under her breath, Snow stepped through the door and saw her stepmother looking into a large mirror that was placed behind the blackboard with a ghostly face inside of it that was surrounded by green flames. After a brief sigh, Ms. White walked over to the side and pulled a rope, lowering the blackboard from above over the mirror, which hid it from view entirely. Then she turned around, and saw Snow standing by the door.

"You did not hear anything, did you?" Ms. White questioned with a threatening tone.

"N-No, Ms. White," Snow lied.

"Good. Now we shall resume our lessons…"

On Saturday, Snow was invited to Ariel's house for a weekend slumber party. But Ms. White forbade her to go, saying that she should 'concentrate' on her studies. Irritated, Snow locked herself in, and decided to clean her room. Ever since she was a little girl, she found that cleaning things actually helped her calm down when she was mad at her stepmother or her new boyfriend Hunter, who was also a colleague at the pharmaceutical company that used to belong to Snow's father, before he passed away three years ago. The doctors said he died of a heart attack, but Snow suspected it was poison, because her family-line didn't have a history of weak hearts. She was determined to find out who did it, but right now, her main priorities were her room and her studies.

After sweeping the floors, rearranging her books, and straightening out her closet, Snow sat down and tried to do her homework. But every time she attempted to do one problem, she thought about all the times Ms. White had bossed her around at previous schools, forcing her to hardly have a social life at all. But here, she found friends who seemed willing to hang out with her, and yet her stepmother kept her from hanging out with them. In frustration, she tore up her lesson papers and threw them in the trash-bin next to her bed, which had a red comforter. Then she quietly opened the door, made sure there was nobody in the hallway, and crept to Hunter's room. She found him inside, sitting at his desk with a ponderous expression. He had a mop of brunette hair, a bushy moustache, and wore a plain brown and yellow business suit.

"Snow!" Hunter exclaimed when he saw her. He looked upset. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help," Snow said reluctantly. "I want to go to a slumber party a friend of mine at school's having, but Queenie won't let me."

"Well, she is your stepmother, and you should do what she says," Hunter said, looking down.

"I don't care! She's been teaching me all by herself on every subject, not letting me go to other classes, and she won't even let me interact with other students except at lunch! I'm sick and tired of her bossing me around like I'm some stupid bird in a cage!"

"Okay, okay, I'll take you to the slumber party, but don't tell her that I helped you." Hunter then stood up, put on a light jacket, and picked up his car keys. "Do you have the friend's address?"

"Right here!" Snow said, showing Hunter a text on her iPhone with the Apple logo on the cover.

So they snuck out of the house while Queenie was doing her daily workout in her room, and headed for the main highway. While Snow relayed the directions to Hunter, he seemed distressed, and took a number of wrong turns. This frustrated Snow, but she didn't say anything about it. But when he took a road that led them into a deep forest outside of town, Snow was fed up.

"Okay, Hunter, what's the big idea? This is clearly the wrong way!" She said when he abruptly pulled off to the side.

Then to her surprise, he opened the glove compartment with rapid speed and pointed a handgun to her head.

"Get out of the car," he said sternly.

In bewildered confusion, she did what he asked her to do. He gestured her to turn away from him, and told her to walk. Snow was now afraid, and had a bad feeling for what lay in store for her, but she said nothing, and obediently walked into the forest, with Hunter close behind. The sun was going down, and the shadows cast among the trees grew longer, making them look scarier. When they got far enough to where the road couldn't be seen, Hunter told her to stop. At that moment, Snow heard the _click_ of the trigger guard being pulled back. It was then that she knew she was done for.

"Why do you want to kill me, Hunter? What have I ever done to you?" Snow asked, though she felt her throat tighten.

"It has nothing to do with me," Hunter said shakily. "I don't bear a grudge against you, but _she_ does."

"Who? Queenie?" Snow didn't want it be true.

"Yes. She sent me to kill you because…she's an insanely vain woman, and is extremely jealous of your beauty!"

"But I don't consider myself to be pretty! I have pale skin, and my hair is too short."

"That's not what her mirror says!"

"What mirror?" Then Snow remembered the one she saw Queenie talking to in the classroom a few days before, and knew exactly what Hunter was talking about.

"She keeps it with her at all times…it's a magic mirror, and is capable of answering any question a person asks. When no one's looking, she uses it to confirm how pretty she is, but ever since you came into her life, the mirror has been saying that you're prettier than her! Yesterday, she told me this, and ordered me to kill you! At first I refused, because I sincerely care about you, even though you didn't seem to care for me, but then she threatened to kill me instead! So, here we are."

Snow didn't know what to say. She knew her stepmother was mean, but she had no idea she was this crazy. The tears fell down her eyes before she realized they were there, but she didn't dare to move her arms. A few minutes passed, but the trigger was never pulled. Then she heard Hunter throw the gun off somewhere to her right, and his footsteps. When she turned around, she saw him running back to the car. Upset and confused, Snow tried to follow him, but by the time she reached the road, Hunter was already driving the car away.

"What the hell?!" Snow cried, though she knew he couldn't hear her. "First you wanted to kill me because my psycho stepmom was jealous, then you spare my life and leave me out in the middle of nowhere? How am I supposed to get back to town you-you jerk?!"

End of Chapter 1

**Sorry this chapter was incredibly long! Hopefully, the ones after this will be shorter.**


	2. Chapter 2: So This Is Love

Chapter 2: So this is Love

"Cindy Tremaine!" cried the teacher. She was a round old lady with a kind face, short white hair, and wore a blue dress with long sleeves and a big red ribbon.

"Here," responded Cindy, who wasn't wearing rags this time, but her school uniform looked worn and faded. She twirled a strand of her hair, and looked irritably at the teacher.

The teacher frowned with a hint of sadness, and continued roll-call. Unlike Classroom 1930, this one was nearly full, but with the same design, such as plaster walls, rows of neat desks placed horizontally across, three large windows to the right, a blackboard, a small teacher's desk, and bookshelves in the far back. Everyone was silent, except for two boys who whispered among themselves. One was skinny and wore a red cap, while the other was plump and wore a green cap, while their faces reminded Cindy of mice. She smiled at them when they looked at her, and then looked back at the board where the teacher was pointing to certain formulas with an ivory-colored wand she carried.

"Today we are going to learn how to transform one object into another, which is not as easy as it seems. Since it breaks the natural laws of nature, one can only perform such a spell for a limited amount of time. Can anyone tell me why that is?"

A girl with green skin and two black horns protruding out from her dark curly hair raised her hand immediately.

"Because if you change the object's nature permanently, it will cause serious damage to the balance of nature and to the caster," she answered.

"Thank you, Maleficent," the teacher said bowing her head in approval. "The balance of nature must be maintained for any spell that you cast, or harm will be done to you _and_ the environment. Now, I will give you a simple demonstration."

After putting down her wand, the teacher leaned down behind her desk, and picked up a small pumpkin. Next, she rolled up her sleeves, picked up the wand again, and twirled it over the pumpkin saying, "Bippidy…Boppidy…Boo!"

In an instant, the pumpkin was transformed by the white sparkles that came out of the teacher's wand into a large porcelain bowl. Almost everyone in the classroom was enchanted, except for Maleficent who scuffed haughtily, and Cindy, who starred out the window next to her seat. Afterwards, the teacher produced dozens of pumpkins on everyone's desks, and told them to try to do the same thing she did. Most of the class struggled, including Cindy, who was nearly on the verge of breaking her wand, which was a plain stick she found when she was raking the leaves back home. The teacher noticed this, and walked over to her.

"Would you like some assistance, Miss Cindy?" the teacher asked.

"I don't need your help, Mrs. Fairy," Cindy replied, sighing heavily out of frustration. "I've got this completely under control."

The teacher, Mrs. Fairy, looked concerned. "Are you concentrating on the thing you wish to turn the pumpkin into?"

"What?"

"In order to change the pumpkin into the thing you wish it to be, you have to concentrate on the image of the thing you wish to turn the pumpkin into. Otherwise, the pumpkin will still be a pumpkin."

"I knew that," Maleficent bragged, and added to her point by turning the pumpkin into a cauldron after reciting the words with a hint of annoyance to it.

"Well some of us aren't magically talented like you are!" Cindy snapped, and stormed out of the classroom.

"Jack, Gus, will you bring her back once she has calmed herself down?" Mrs. Fairy said, looking at the two boys whom Cindy smiled at earlier.

"Yes, ma'am!" they both said, and left to find Cindy.

They found her in the kitchen pantry crying with a large floppy-eared dog lying next to her. He was a stray that she had found in the park while walking her stepmother's cat, and decided to bring him here instead of to her own home, knowing that her stepmother would not approve. The chef didn't mind, as long as the dog didn't eat any of the food within the pantry. Because of his brown fur, Cindy called him Bruno. Jack and Gus approached Cindy, and tried to comfort her.

"There's no need to cry, Cindy," Jack said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "It's not like Mrs. Fairy expected you to get it on the first try."

"I know," Cindy replied, wiping away her tears. "But that's not what's bothering me."

"Then what is it? You can tell us," Gus said, kneeling down next to Cindy.

"It's my stepmother!" Cindy snapped, causing both Jack and Gus to lean back. "I asked her if I could go to Ariel's slumber party last week, and she said I could, but then she made me do her and her daughters' laundry! It's like she didn't want me to go, but was too polite to say it!"

Jack scratched his chin while Cindy resumed crying, and then he asked, "Have you talked to Mrs. Willow about any of this?"

Cindy shook her head. "I don't think her advice will be of any help! This is **my** problem!"

"But that's why you should talk to her," Jack said, patting Cindy's back.

"Yeah," Gus agreed. "At least it's better than directly confronting your stepmother."

The thought of direct confrontation made Cindy twitch in fear, since previous times ended up with her having more chores to do, or worse, getting smacked in the face. When she remembered that, her tears instantly dried up, a method she had developed in order to make herself seem stronger to those around her. Though the boys didn't notice this, they tried to cheer her up by telling her funny stories of their many failed prank attempts. She laughed, and was able to come with them back to Classroom 1950 with a calmer appearance.

Later, when she was doing cleaning duties in the lunch-room, she noticed Ariel sitting by herself, looking upset. Out of concern, though she didn't like Ariel that much, Cindy swept her way towards Ariel's table, singing a melody she picked up from listening to the glee club after school. This caught Ariel's attention, but when she saw that it was Cindy, she looked disappointed.

"What's wrong? Aren't you happy that I'm finally paying attention to you?" Cindy asked sarcastically.

Ariel didn't react.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you remember Snow, the new girl?"

Cindy remembered her vaguely from the time she yelled at Ariel for being in her way while she was moping. "Yeah, I think so. What about her?"

"She hasn't been here all week, and I'm worried that something might've happened to her."

"Like what?"

"Well, she told me that her stepmother was pretty mean, and she sometimes talked to herself at night, as if there was someone close-by."

"Sounds like a nut-job to me."

"I know, and that's what worries me."

"Don't think about it too much. Maybe she'll be back tomorrow." Then Cindy left Ariel, and continued sweeping the floors. Because of the relief that cleaning provided when she wasn't thinking about her own stepmother, she became so mesmerized that she accidently bumped into someone. She backed away with her head down and said, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!"

"It's okay."

She looked up, and found herself staring at a young boy with short dark brown hair smoothed back with gel, with dark eyes, and a noble face despite wearing the same uniform as everyone else. While he dusted himself off, Cindy just stood there. She had spoken to boys before with casual indifference, but for this one in particular she found a hard time finding the right words to say.

"I said it was okay!" he said, noticing her staring at him. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, n-nothing's wrong," Cindy stuttered.

"Well, that's a relief." He sighed. "I've just returned home after four years, and everyone's freaking out by how different I look, including my uncle."

"I see."

Just then, the bell rang, so Cindy had to leave him before asking his name. When she got to her locker, she was confronted by two girls standing on either side of her. One had red ringlets and a pudgy nose, while the other had black ringlets with a green ribbon tied in her hair.

"I heard you weren't doing so well in Magic Class today," the red-haired one said smugly.

"Maleficent said you ran out crying, is this true?" asked the dark-haired one.

"Ana, Trissy, I don't have the time to talk to you right now," Cindy stated with a cold tone. "I need to get to Choir right now."

But as she turned away from them after closing her locker, they followed her.

"There's no point in ignoring us, after all, all three of us attend the same class," said Ana, the red-haired one.

"Yeah, and we're your stepsisters, so stop treating us like we're strangers or something," replied Trissy, the dark-haired one.

Cindy walked on. "I would treat you like stepsisters if you didn't treat me like your personal maid at home!"

After classes, she went to where the glee club met, but saw the boy from the lunch-room walking towards her. Instinctively, she ducked behind a hallway corner, and watched him walk past her. She sighed with relief, but noticed that her heart was still beating rapidly. This continued as she was walking home, though she didn't want to.

_I must be sick_, Cindy thought as she aired the rugs. But after she cleaned the gutters, raked the leaves, and washed the bed-sheets, her heartbeat went back to normal. She walked into the kitchen, exhausted, and was found her stepmother, Ms. Tremaine, standing there in a red dress while petting her cat, which was a large black ball of fluff with a mean grin on its face.

"Did you clean the gutters?" she asked sharply.

"Yes," Cindy replied.

"Wash the bed-sheets?"

"Yes."

"Air the rugs?"

"Yes."

"Rake the leaves?"

"Yes, twice now."

"And, did you bathe Lucifer?"

Cindy glared at the black cat in her stepmother's arms. "No, I haven't done that yet."

"Will you do it before you turn in for the night?"

"Yes, I will do that, stepmother."

"Good, you may have the leftovers when we're finished with dinner."

Seeing that her stepmother wasn't going anywhere, Cindy left the kitchen. She went up to her room, and pulled out a plastic bag full of snacks she bought at the grocery store with her own money. After munching on some chips, she took out her school books and did some homework before her stepmother called her back down to cook dinner since she was the only one in the house who could. While all of this was going on, Cindy's thoughts constantly kept going back to the boy she met that day. Her heart pounded repeatedly, and felt her face grow warm. Her stepmother noticed this when Cindy served a plate of spinach and cheese-filled lasagna with a bowl of Brussels sprouts.

"Is something wrong, Cindy? I hope you're not getting sick." Ms. Tremaine's frown grew bigger.

"No, stepmother, I'm not," Cindy said, looking away.

"Good, because if you were getting sick, I would have to hire a maid to do all the chores for you and you know we can't afford that, right?"

"I think she's in love, mother," Trissy said with a teasing smile. "Her face is red, and she seems more distracted than usual."

"So who is the lucky guy, or sucker to be more precise?" Ana asked, then she and Trissy broke out laughing.

"Shut up!" Cindy snapped. "I'm not in love with anyone, and you know it!"

Then as she ran back upstairs with her hands to her face, Ms. Tremaine called after her, "Cinderella, I will not have you talk to my daughters in that manner! You'll not only have to bathe Lucifer and clean up when we're done with dinner, but you will also have to start cleaning the attic! Is that clear?!"

Cindy pretended not to hear Ms. Tremaine, and slammed the door behind her. Despite the tears flowing down her face, her heart was still pounding, and the image of that boy was still her mind despite her attempts to forget him. In agony, she fell on her bed.

_So this is love at first sight_, Cindy thought wearily. _I thought this kind of thing only happened in fairytales, cuz it sucks in real life!_

Then an idea came to her, and she quickly pulled out her cellphone. She speed-dialed a number she used many times for situations like this, and heard the phone ring on the other end. After a few seconds, she heard a sweet voice on the other end.

"_Hello, Cindy. What's up?_"

"Hey, Rose, I have a problem," Cindy replied with a sigh of relief.

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3: Golden Hair of Sunshine

Chapter 3: Golden Hair of Sunshine

In a small cottage in the woods outside of town where a satellite dish was placed on top of the roof, there lived Rose Briar, a teenage girl who attended Disney Academy. She had a slender figure, with long golden locks, red lips, and doe-like eyes. While her guardians Flora, Fauna, and Mary were asleep, Rose was in her room chatting with Cindy, her best friend.

"I'm sorry you're not getting along with your stepmother and stepsisters," Rose replied over the phone. "I think you should definitely talk to the student counselor Mrs. Willow."

"_Jack and Gus told me the same thing, but I don't know if she'll be able to help me_," answered Cindy on the other end.

"Just talk to her," Rose said. "She helped me when I was bothered by Philip's uncanny resemblance to the prince in that dream I had a few weeks ago."

"_What did she say?_"

"She said I should try to get together with him. After all, he might be the prince from my dream."

"_But how could you dream of someone you've never met? Plus, we only saw him during that walk through the woods when he passed us on his horse, claiming it was practice for the Men's Equestrian Club at school. I think you're taking this dream interpretation stuff way too seriously_."

Rose sighed, and then said, "But didn't you have a special dream as well? You said it was a wish, and it wouldn't come true if you told me. How is that any different than believing someone you've met once is the prince of your dreams?"

The door suddenly opened, startling Rose. It was Flora, wearing a red nightgown with her gray hair tied up into a bun. She stared at Rose wearily with a silver-colored stick in her hand.

"You should get to bed soon, Rose," she asked. "Don't you have an important test tomorrow in French Class?"

"Yes, Aunt Flora," Rose replied, then she said to Cindy, "I have to go now, Cindy. See you at school!"

After she hung up, Flora closed the bedroom door. Then reluctantly, Rose resumed studying the textbook she was looking at when Cindy called her. It was half-past eleven when Rose decided to quit, got into her two-piece pink pajamas, and went to bed.

The next morning, Rose slowly walked to French Class in room 1990 with sleepy eyes. Some of her classmates noticed, including Ariel, who decided to sit next to her. While Rose reviewed her notes, the teacher took attendance. He was a tall man with light-brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and a long nose.

"Ahem! Monsieur's and Mademoiselles," he said in a French accent. "It is time to begin the first test of the semester. I hope you are ready. Now…begin!"

Everyone immediately opened the envelopes on their desks, and started. Some were doing fine, like the brunette girl with the ponytail, while others weren't, like Rose. She, Ariel, and a couple others were the only ones left when the bell for second period rang.

"Your time is up! Pass your tests forward!" the teacher stated firmly.

Rose and the others reluctantly passed their tests up to the teacher, and left with anxious, or frustrated looks. While Rose sighed heavily, Ariel attempted to smile when she saw Eric coming towards her, with Philip at his side. Like Prince and Char, he also had short brown hair, but his was chestnut-colored, with hazel-brown eyes. Rose felt too upset to try to talk with him, so she just passed the boys and went straight for her locker.

"Hey, wait!" cried Philip as he caught up to Rose. "You're that girl I met in the woods!"

Rose attempted to avoid making eye contact with him.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Rose shrugged. "Just a French test."

"With Professor Lumière?"

"Yeah."

"I've heard his tests are pretty hard, even for beginners."

"No kidding," Rose scuffed. "But what's weird is that the questions on the test were completely different from the practice test he gave us a few days ago."

Just then, the warning bell went off, causing Rose and Philip to separate, while Ariel sulked in the other direction. Rose glanced back, and saw Philip looking back at her. This made her remember the prince from her dream, only with Philip's face on it, causing her to blush and hurry downstairs for Choir. On the way, she met up with Cindy.

"So have you talked to Mrs. Willow yet?" Rose asked.

Cindy sighed. "Not yet, but I will at some point this week."

"Good." Rose looked back up. "I wonder what's wrong with Ariel, though. She sat next to me in class today, and she never usually does. Then when we ran into Eric and Philip, Eric tried to comfort her, but she just brushed him off."

"Oh, she must be still worrying about that new girl," Cindy explained.

"The one whom Gaston believed was a classroom ghost?"

"Yeah, that girl, she hasn't shown up since last Friday, and we all know what happens to students who miss a week of school."

"Suspension," Rose said, entering the Choir room.

There, she was winked at by Fauna, her other guardian. Like Flora, she also had gray hair tied in a bun, but was wearing a green dress instead of a red one. Once everyone was seated, she addressed everyone in a quiet, kindly voice.

"Good morning, class, I hope your day is going well," she said, and raised her silver baton. "Now, let's start off by doing our voice exercises. Rose, why don't you lead us?"

Reluctantly, Rose stood up, and Fauna sang a high note. When Rose tried to repeat it, however, it came out terribly. She coughed while a few people giggled in the room, including Ana and Trissy. Cindy glared at them, and then noticed Maleficent holding her ebony-colored wand underneath her arm, while clearly pointing it at Rose.

"Miss Fauna!" Cindy said, raising her hand. "Maleficent used her magic to interfere with Rose's singing!"

Everyone looked at her, and then at Maleficent, who stood up and willingly showed her wand.

"Go to the principal's office right now, young lady!" Fauna said, pointing her baton at the door, which suddenly opened on its own. When she realized what she did, Fauna muttered, "Oh, no."

"Wow, teach, I didn't know you were capable of using magic," Maleficent said sarcastically as she walked out the door. "I'll have to keep that in mind next time."

After Maleficent left, the lessons continued as if nothing had happened. After all, magic was common in the world, but only a few people used it, namely fairies, sorcerers, and witches. But Rose was personally distraught, because throughout all the fifteen years she had known Fauna, she had never seen her use magic before. Now, it was clear that Fauna had been keeping this a secret from her.

_I wonder if Flora and Mary know about this, maybe they use magic as well_, Rose wondered, turning her head towards the window next to her table during lunch-period.

To her surprise, a small black raven with beady yellow eyes was standing on the window-still outside. It pecked the glass a few times, and then flew away. This incident puzzled Rose throughout the rest of the day, because she could've sworn the raven was looking at _her_ the whole time.

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4: The Most Beautiful Voice

Chapter 4: The Most Beautiful Voice

"Ariel, why won't you talk to me?" Eric asked, sitting in front of her at a table on the other side of the lunch-room from where Rose was.

In response, Ariel looked down and twirled the fettuccini with her fork. Yesterday, she was heading over to the academy's Olympic-sized pool for swimming practice after school, when she got a call on her cellphone. She looked at the ID, sighed, and answered.

"Hi, daddy," she answered reluctantly.

"_What's the matter, Ariel? Are you still mad at me?_" her father, Mr. King, replied.

"Well, yeah, but it doesn't matter anymore."

"_Do you want to talk about it? I have a few minutes before the board meeting with Mr. Stephen._"

"Doesn't he own a lot of land or something?"

"_Yes, and I'm going to persuade him into becoming my business partner. If all goes well, then I will get to build more resorts, and he will get a share of the profits. He says he has a daughter about your age who's attending Disney Academy_."

"Oh? What's her name?"

There was a long pause on the phone, and then Mr. King responded, "_I believe it was something like…Aurora?_"

"I can't say I've heard of a girl named 'Aurora' before, but maybe I'll look into it." Then before her father could answer, Ariel hung up.

After getting changed into her school bathing-suit, which was a shimmering golden one-piece, she went through the locker-room door. On the other side, a large woman was standing by the pool's edge, wearing a black one-piece bathing-suit, with light-purple skin and short white hair. Ariel took a deep breath, and approached the woman with caution.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Ursula," Ariel said timidly.

The large woman turned slowly and looked at Ariel with surprise.

"Oh, you're earlier than usual," she said in a low voice. "What can I do for you?"

"I heard…from a friend of mine, that…you're a witch. Is that true?"

Ursula replied with a small scuff. "I dabble in the art every now and then, but I wouldn't call myself a 'witch'. It sounds too derogatory, like I'm Madam Mim or something like that."

Madam Mim, according to what Ariel heard, was the former Magic teacher at Disney Academy before Mrs. Fairy took over. She was supposedly a good teacher, until the principal found out she was killing students through her secret 'wizard duels' that were said to involve the participants shape-shifting into different animals. A sorcerer named Merlin was hired to take care of her, and then after she was defeated, Madam Mim was never heard from again. The newspapers said she died of a disease Merlin had infected her with, while some claimed she was still out there, but they were just rumors.

"I suppose so," Ariel replied, and then she asked, "Can you…change someone's mind?"

"It depends on what opinion you want to change, and how you want me to change it."

"Well, there's this boy I really like. His name's Eric Prince. I'm seriously thinking about dating him, but when I described him to my father, he didn't approve, so now I'm distraught."

"Why didn't your father approve of this boy?"

"Because he…has a thing against regular humans, whereas…we're mermaids."

"Oh." Ursula appeared to be shocked, but something about her eyes made Ariel realize she was faking it. "That certainly does explain why you're my star swimmer, but how can you be a mermaid when you have legs instead of a fishtail?"

"We take these," Ariel said as she pulled a small waterproof capsule from her cleavage. "They're called Sea Pills, a type of drug that can give mermaids legs for three days at a time. If you don't believe me, you can find them at White Apple Pharmaceuticals."

"No, I believe you." Ursula heard voices from the locker room, and put a hand on Ariel's shoulder. "We'll talk more about this later."

Reluctantly, Ariel joined the other Swim Team members, who were all girls, as they lined up at the platforms for each lane. Ursula gave them a prep talk about the upcoming Swim Meet, and told them to swim twenty laps under five minutes. Naturally, Ariel finished first, followed by two tan girls, one with a blue tattoo below her left eye, and the other with dark brown curls sticking out from under her swimmer's cap. When the buzzer went off, everyone stopped, then Ursula gave an analysis on each swimmer, and the cycle started again. This went on for an hour, with a ten-minute break in-between, then the practice session ended with all the girls jumping off the high-board with various flips and somersaults.

Once the last girl jumped in, Ursula blew the shell-shaped whistle around her neck, and shouted, "All right, ladies! Get out of the pool and hit the showers!"

Gladly, the majority of the girls got out, and went straight for the locker-room. Ariel stayed behind in order to resume her earlier talk, when she was met up by the two tan girls. She tried to look happy, and smiled at them.

"Hey, nice job, Ariel!" said the girl with brown curls.

"Thanks, Esmeralda," Ariel replied.

"You aced that time-limit like it was no big deal! We're going to win the Swim Meet for sure!" added the girl with the blue tattoo.

"I'm sure we will, as a team, of course!" Then Ariel realized, "You're new here, right?"

"Yeah," the girl with the blue tattoo responded. "My name's Kidagakash Nedakh, but you can call me Kida."

The two girls shook hands, and then Esmeralda dragged Kida to the locker room, telling her all about the various victories Ariel had accomplished for the Swim Team. Ariel overheard her, and shrugged them off as she walked over to Ursula. For a while, Ursula said nothing, and then when the voices from the locker room died down, she turned to Ariel.

"After considering your problem, I think I might have a solution for you." Ursula wrapped her arm around Ariel's shoulders and spoke softly. "Tonight, I will make a potion that'll make your father change his mind about you dating Eric. However, the effect will only last three days. So to make the thought-change permanent, you must go on at least one successful date with Eric during that limited time."

"What do you mean by 'successful'?" Ariel asked.

Ursula giggled. "By the end of the date, you two must kiss lips at least once before midnight on the third day. If you don't succeed, your father's opinion will change back, and you'll have to convince him on your own after that. But, there is a price."

"Whatever you want, I'll be willing to pay. If it's money you want-

"No, no, I don't need material wealth, darling. You see, in order to change a person, whether it be a mentally or physically, the one who desires this change must give up something in turn to trigger this effect. So, in exchange for altering your father's spoken opinion, you must give me your voice."

Ariel was shocked. She started to back away, but Ursula grabbed her firmly by the shoulders.

"No! I will not give up my voice! It's the most beautiful voice in the whole world, so it's too valuable to me!" Ariel struggled, but Ursula's grasp was tighter.

"Once you've made a promise to a witch, you are obligated to fulfill your end of the bargain."

Then just as Ariel was going to scream, Ursula placed a hand over Ariel's mouth. She felt something warm going down her throat, and then as Ursula pulled her hand away, a bright orb flashed in her palm. With her eyebrow raised slightly, Ursula placed the glowing orb into the shell-shaped whistle, leaving Ariel dumbfounded.

In the present, the worried look on Eric's face made Ariel feel ashamed of her choice, but she decided she would make the best of it, and deal with Ursula later. So she took out a notebook from her book-bag and a pencil with a mermaid on it, and wrote:

_I have a really sore throat, so I can't talk right now. But hopefully, it will go away soon. In the meantime, would you like to do something fun this weekend?_

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5: A Beauty

**5****th**** Chapter and still going! Thank you ****mscleveland1397, sammansonrepilica, and shanaecampbell for favoriting my story, and I would also like to thank MusicLover51096, ShanTV Broadway, Suzerenma, The Dish, dispix208, irisgoddess, pyrogirl23, and swisslindtchclte for following it.**

Chapter 5: A Beauty, But a Funny Girl

While Eric thought about Ariel's proposal and Rose pondered over the raven at the window in the lunch-room, the brunette girl from French Class was seated in the library, reading her textbook for Math Class next period. She had a fair complex, with doe-like eyes, and her hair was tied back into a ponytail with a blue ribbon. When her stomach growled unexpectedly, she closed her book and left the library. However, her path was intercepted by a tall boy with bulging muscles made visible by his rolled-up sleeves, and a strongly defined chin.

"Hello, Belle," the boy said.

After an annoyed sigh, Belle replied, "Hello, Gaston."

She tried to walk past him, but Gaston immediately grabbed her textbook from her hands, and started inspecting it.

"May I have my book back?" Belle said, holding her hand out.

"Why do you care so much about this? Aren't you a top student or something?" Gaston replied, flipping through the pages.

Belle folded her arms. "Well _some_ of us care more about our grades than _others_."

At that moment Gaston stopped, and for a second, he glared at her. "Belle, you worry too much about your studies. The whole school's talking about you! They say you're beautiful, but too weird to be a potential girlfriend."

Then Gaston threw the textbook over his shoulder, which landed in a trashcan near one of the classrooms. Immediately, Belle walked towards it, but she was blocked by Gaston. She tried to side-step him, but he followed her, back and forth.

"You need to start socializing more, like hang out with friends or go to parties," Gaston said, moving backwards unintentionally.

"I don't have friends, nor am I interested in parties. They're too loud and distracting." Belle drove Gaston into the trashcan, where they both stopped.

"They're not that bad once you get used to them, but do you see what I mean? All that nonsense about studying hard and getting good grades makes people like you completely boring! You're missing out on all fun things, Belle, and I'm here to fix that."

While Gaston was talking, Belle reached around his side, and pulled the book out of trashcan. He didn't notice, but as soon as he did, she walked away from him, cleaning the textbook with her sleeve. Luckily, the book wasn't badly damaged, just a few drops of soda on the back, and nothing else. She heard his footsteps behind her, so she quickly walked to the nearest stairs, but she was met by a short boy with a big nose and pudgy hands. He tried to prevent her from going down, but she managed to get past him by sliding down the hand-rails to the bottom. No one saw her, and she continued onto the lunch-room as the whistle from the hall-monitor blew above her.

Later, after an uneventful lunch, much to Belle's relief, she headed down the hallway across from the lunch-room and into Classroom 1992, where she and the other students were greeted by a tall man of Arabic ethnicity standing by the teacher's desk. He had a curly chin-beard, wore a long dark crimson jacket, and carried a golden cane with a cobra-head on it. Belle was initially surprised, but she obediently took her seat, and so did the others.

The Arabic man then stretched his skinny hands across the small desk, and spoke in a sly, menacing voice. "Greetings, class. I am your substitute teacher, Jeff Arum-Baugh, but you may call me Jeff. Mr. Cogsworth was sick today, but he told me to keep an eye on you during the test."

"Aw, come on, teach! Can't we just do something fun in this class for once?" asked a boy near the back, who was also Arabic, with short black hair and an unbuttoned dress-shirt.

"Don't take that tone with me, boy, and please button up your dress-shirt! This is a classroom, **not** a photography studio!" Jeff said, gritting his teeth.

When the boy refused, Jeff picked up his cane, and pointed it at him. A crimson lightning bolt leapt out of the cane and hit the boy, causing him to fly backwards and hit the concrete floor with his head. The class was astonished, and then they looked at Jeff with fearful looks.

As Jeff put the staff down, he said, "If any of you report this incident to the principal, I will make sure that every one of you is expelled! After all, I am the school secretary when I'm not substituting for other teachers. Are we clear?"

No one said a word as Jeff handed out tests, even Belle, who tried to forget the whole thing. She finished the test with quick efficiency, but just as she was about to leave the classroom, Jeff called her to the desk. Averting his eyes, she walked up to him and stared down at the papers he held in his hands.

"Do you know a student by the name of Adam Bête?" Jeff inquired.

"Well, sort of. My father and I live at the base of the hill where he lives. Why do you ask?"

"Mr. Cogsworth has asked me to hand these homework assignments that Mr. Bête has missed to you, so that you may drop them off at his house on the way home."

"Oh, sure, I could do that," Belle replied, and took the papers from Jeff's hands.

Later that day, Belle was walking home when she saw Gaston standing at the front door. Irritated, she took a detour up the hill to Adam's house to drop the homework assignments in his mailbox. But when she got there, she was astonished to find no mailbox near the large driveway. All that was left of it was a wooden stump that looked like it had been torn by a large animal. Ignoring it, she timidly approached the large front doors of the two-story mansion, and pressed a voice-box next to them.

"Hello? Adam Bête?"

On the other end, a deep, thunderous voice responded, "_**Who is this?**_"

The angry tone caught Belle off-guard, causing her to hesitate before speaking again. "I-I'm Belle Maurice, one of your classmates and-

"_**What is your business with me? I do not wish to be disturbed by anyone!**_"

"Well, Mr. Cogsworth has noticed you've been gone for a while, and since we're neighbors, he asked me to deliver some of the homework assignments you missed."

"_**Leave the papers by the door, and then walk away. If I catch you looking back, I'll tear your throat out!**_"

Belle gasped. In fear, she did as Adam asked, and left without saying another word. To avoid Gaston, she entered through the garden gate and opened the back door with a key hidden underneath a small log. The house was brightly-lit by the sunset, but unusually quiet. She called out for her father several times, until she came across a note posted on his bedside table. It said:

_My Dearest Belle,_

_By the time you get this note, I will probably be on my way to the Science Fair in the next town over. There are leftovers in the fridge. You may invite one or two friends over, but no parties. I will see you in a couple of days._

_Love,_

_Papa Maurice_

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6: Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 6: Diamond in the Rough

After Math Class was over, the Arabic boy who was zapped by Jeff stumbled into the nurse's office, where a young girl, also Arabic, wearing a blue headband with a big gem on it was sitting at a desk, typing various medical records into a computer. When she saw the boy, she immediately got up and ran to him with her long black ponytail flying behind her. She managed to catch him before he collapsed onto the floor from the pain.

"Are you okay? What happened?" asked the girl as she tried to pull the boy towards the examination table. "Esmeralda!"

"Yes?" Esmeralda replied, popping out of a door to the left, which contained various medical supplies, including potions.

"I need some help over here!"

When Esmeralda noticed the boy, she quickly grabbed his legs, helping the young Arabic girl hoist him onto the examination table. His shirt was still unbuttoned, revealing a chest that was swollen red. The young Arabic girl flinched at the sight of it, while Esmeralda examined it carefully.

"It looks like he was zapped by a bolt of magic lightning. We'll have to wait until Merryweather gets back, but in the meantime, we'll try to ease the pain with ice-packs." Esmeralda wasted no time and quickly pulled out two plastic packs out of a small freezer and applied them to the boy's chest.

He flinched in response, but as the coolness spread throughout his body, he relaxed. The young Arabic girl unintentionally squeezed his hand, telling him softly that everything was going to be all right. This went on for a few minutes before Nurse Merryweather came in, wearing a white overcoat over a royal blue dress. As Esmeralda and the young Arabic girl explained what happened, Merryweather looked at the boy's chest, and then she immediately closed the curtains that separated the examination table from the front parlor, and told the two girls to wait outside without peeking.

"What is she doing?" the young Arabic girl asked.

Esmeralda glanced behind her, and then she whispered, "She's using magic to heal him, but she doesn't want anyone to see her using it."

"But I've heard that magic is openly used at this school."

"I know. It's a weird habit, but she says it's for a good reason."

After the 4th period bell rang, Nurse Merryweather pulled back the curtains and said, "He's fine now, but he does need to rest. I'll let his teachers know so that he's excused from class. If one of you could watch him until he's well enough to walk, that would be great."

Then just as quickly as she had come in before, Nurse Merryweather left as soon as she wrote an excused absence on a piece of paper on the desk with the computer. Esmeralda took the young Arabic girl's place at the desk, while the young Arabic girl went to check on the boy, who was sleeping soundlessly, and closed the curtains behind her. She was about to button up his dress-shirt when something wriggled from a small pocket inside. The young Arabic girl backed away as the thing emerged out of the pocket and onto the boy's chest, revealing it to be a small tan-colored monkey with big eyes and a curled tail. When it saw her, the monkey got into a defensive position, letting out a series of shrieks that woke the boy up.

"Abu!" the boy shouted, grabbing the monkey by its torso. "I told you to stay in the pocket, you little goofball!"

As the boy put Abu back into the pocket, he then noticed the young Arabic girl while Esmeralda abruptly opened the curtains.

"What's going on? I thought I heard some shrieking noises." Then Esmeralda noticed the boy. "Was that you?"

"Uh, yeah," the boy lied. "I woke up and freaked out when I saw that pretty girl over there."

"Her name's Jasmine, and-

"I prefer to be called Jas," the young Arabic girl replied in an irritated tone.

"Jas," Esmeralda corrected. "And she just started volunteering as an assistant nurse today."

"Oh," the boy said. Then he started to get off the examination table.

"Where are you going?" asked Esmeralda, blocking his path to the door.

"Where do you think I'm going? To my next class, of course!" the boy replied.

"But we didn't say you could go," Jas interceded, standing next to Esmeralda. "How do you feel?"

"He feels fine."

Esmeralda and Jas looked behind them, and saw a skinny girl with long wavy brunette hair tied up by a purple ribbon, followed by a blue-skinned boy with a long chin and blue flames sprouting from his head. Neither of them had the standard school uniforms on, and instead wore blue jeans and leather jackets. The boy seemed to recognize them as he smiled back at the girl.

"Meg, how did you know where I was?" the boy asked, jumping off the examination table.

"Pain and Panic saw you stumble into the nurse's office, so they reported it back to Hades," Meg responded, nodding to the boy with the blue flaming head behind her.

"So what's the deal, Al? Got a case of the flu or something?" asked Hades, grinning meanly.

"I got zapped by a teacher, man, and it was not cool!" the boy, Al, said, brushing past Esmeralda and Jas.

"Then where's the proof? Every magic spell directed at a person leaves _some_ kind of physical mark," Hades said skeptically.

Al looked down at his chest, and sighed, "Well, I did have burn marks earlier, but it looks like the nurse got rid of them somehow."

"Then she must've used magic to heal you, as that is the only way to get rid of marks left by magical attacks, but since none of us have seen Nurse Merryweather use magic, including Pain and Panic, I think you're lying."

"I'm not lying, Hades! These girls can verify my story!"

Hades' smirk didn't fade as he looked at Esmeralda and Jas. "Were either of you ladies in the classroom where Al got zapped by this alleged teacher?"

Both girls shook their heads.

"See what I mean? You're a liar, Al, but that's what I like about you."

Then Hades put one long arm around Al's shoulders, and walked away with him, while Meg followed. Jas was immediately going to go after them, when Esmeralda stopped her. They both stared after the three as they walked down the hallway in front of them, until the door closed.

"What was with those two, barging in and taking our patient away like that?" Jas said angrily.

Esmeralda sighed and explained, "They're part of a street gang whose territory includes our school, and they've been notoriously known for stealing things from local businesses or beating up anybody who crosses them the wrong way. That blue guy's the leader, while Meg's his girlfriend. They used to be students at Disney Academy, until they were expelled by the principal due to disruptive behavior and not taking their studies seriously, but they still come here like they own the place."

"And that boy, Al, is a part of that gang?"

"I suspect so. That's probably why they came and took him away, though I am surprised someone like Al would join them."

"Why?"

Esmeralda paused, and blushed slightly as she answered. "Well, to put it simply, Al is like…a diamond in the rough."

"I see." Jas sighed, and then she grabbed her school bag and left for 5th period.

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7: A Spinning Arrow

Chapter 7: A Spinning Arrow

As soon as the bell for end of 8th period rang, the students didn't hesitate to leave, especially since it was Friday. Some, like Pocahontas, left her classroom before anyone had the chance to talk to her. It wasn't that she didn't like school, or felt shunned by the other classmates, but was excited to talk to Mrs. Willow about her dream. Mrs. Willow was the student counselor, and a friend to Pocahontas' family.

She hurried down the hallways on light feet, despite the various students calling her name, until she came to a door with Mrs. Willow's name on it. Before she stepped inside, Pocahontas peeped through the window on the door, and beheld a sight that made her hold her breath. Inside sat Mrs. Willow, an old woman with a kind woody face, and a young man with medium blonde hair and pale skin. Pocahontas was the editor for the student paper, known as _The Daily Chirp _after its founder Jiminy Cricket, and she knew every student that had ever attended. But she had never seen this blonde boy before, which made her wonder who he was. When curiosity overtook her, Pocahontas opened the door a crack to hear Willow's conversation with the boy, but the noise caused both of them to look.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting," Pocahontas said, trying to sound calm. "But I need to talk to you right away, Mrs. Willow. However, if you're too busy, I could-

"It's alright," the blonde boy said as he got up. "I was just about to leave, anyway. The name's John Smith, and I'll be attending Disney Academy as of next week."

"Pocahontas. I'm the editor of the student newspaper."

The two briefly shook hands, and then John Smith left the office. Pocahontas watched him leave, and then she turned to face Mrs. Willow.

"He's pretty cute," Mrs. Willow said, smirking.

"Yes, but not…that cute," Pocahontas said as she took the seat opposite from Mrs. Willow.

"I see you're wearing your mother's necklace."

Pocahontas unconsciously touched the bright blue beaded necklace around her throat, and sighed. "My father wants me to marry Kocoum when I graduate in the spring."

"Well, Kocoum is handsome, and he comes from a good family, but he's too…serious in my opinion."

"That's what I think too, but my father thinks the marriage will benefit both my family and Kocoum's, since the two have been close for many generations, and he also believes this dream I had recently proves that. However, I feel differently about it."

"Tell me about this dream, while I make us some herbal tea." Mrs. Willow stood up and walked slowly to the brewer. She grabbed two black mugs from the table and filled them with tea bags containing mint herbs from her garden, and then turned on the brewer.

Pocahontas watched Mrs. Willow as she spoke. "Well, it begins with darkness. I'm alone, and have no idea where I am. Then, below my feet, I see a large arrow. It's bright and red, but just as I take another step it starts to spin, faster and faster with every turn, until it suddenly stops. That's when I wake up."

"Do you remember where the arrow stopped?" Mrs. Willow asked, just as the brewer started whistling.

"Sadly, no."

"Was there anything else in this dream?"

Pocahontas shook her head as Mrs. Willow handed her a cup of tea, and they both sat staring at each other for several minutes. The clock ticked, while the noise of the students passing through the hallways gradually grew quieter, until there was complete silence. Then as some of faculty passed by heading home, Mrs. Willow finished her tea and placed her hands together.

"Well, based on what you've told me, I believe that this dream is referring to a path that has been set out for you. Whether you take it or not is up to you, but the darkness indicates that if you don't take this path, you'll be forever lost. As for the path itself, it's hard to say what it leads to without any evidence in the dream. So I wouldn't worry too much, but when the time comes to decide your path in life, listen with your heart."

"What do you mean?" Pocahontas asked.

"You will understand."

After a brief goodbye, Pocahontas left Mrs. Willow's office with a better conscious on the problems at hand. It was then that her mind drifted to John Smith, so as she turned a corner to the adjacent hallway, she didn't see the Asian student that was heading towards her, and so the two collided. A shower of books suddenly followed, coming from the top of the Asian student's head.

"Mulan, what are you—

"Nothing! Nothing at all, just…practicing for my fashion model audition," Mulan replied, hurriedly picking up the books.

"By trying to balance books on your head? I didn't think someone as tomboyish as you would be interested in becoming a fashion model," Pocahontas said, helping Mulan.

"I was being sarcastic!"

"Okay, I was only kidding. Is there something bothering you?"

Mulan looked away, and then she said, "I know we've been friends for awhile, but this isn't something that you can help me with."

But before Pocahontas could ask further questions, Mulan took the books that Pocahontas had picked up for her, put them on top of her pile, then carrying the whole stack in both arms, she walked away.

End of Chapter 7


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